Holder for an electric lamp or valve



April 16, 1968 c. w. HEATH 3,378,809

HOLDER FOR AN ELECTRIC LAMP OR VALVE Filed Dec. 22, 1966 INVENTOR gamma Wilkins Heath ATTORNEY United States Patent M 3,378,809 HOLDER FOR AN ELECTRIC LAMP 0R VALVE Clarence Willans Heath, Bleasby, England, assignor to United-Carr Incorporated, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 22, 1966, Ser. No. 603,968 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Jan. 19, 1966, 2,439/ 66 3 Claims. (Cl. 339-91) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLGSURE A lampholder is provided with two sets of resilient fingers, one set for snapping into an aperture in a support and the other for engaging a lamp assembled in the holder.

This invention relates to holders for electric lamps or valves.

According to the present invention, the holder comprises a body of insulating material formed with a cavity for receiving the base of the lamp or valve, a separately formed metal member attached to the holder at the lamp or valve receiving end of the cavity, said member including a first set of resilient fingers extending outwardly of said end of the holder for snapping into an aperture in a support with which the holder is adapted to be assembled and a second set of resilient fingers also extending outwardly of said end of the holder and having inwardly inclined portions for engaging and retaining the envelope of the lamp when inserted into the holder.

The said metal member may comprise a sheet metal ring secured to the body of the holder, the two sets of fingers being formed integrally with the ring.

To enable the invention to be fully understood, it will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional View of a lampholder according to one embodiment of the invention; and

FIGURE 2 is a plan view thereof.

As illustrated in the drawing, the lamphol-der is of the type adapted to receive a wedge base lamp bulb and comprises a body 1 formed of synthetic plastics material having a cavity 2 for receiving the base of the lamp. It will be understood that contacts (not shown) will normally be provided in the cavity for engaging contacts on the outer face of the base of the lamp.

At the lamp receiving end of the cavity the body is formed with an integral radial flange 3. A sheet metal member is provided having a fiat annular shaped base 4 which is secured to the flange 3 by an inwardly turned portion 3a of the flange.

The base 4 is formed with a first set of integral resilient fingers 5 bent to extend outwardly at an angle to the axis of the holder and provided with inwardly extending free ends 5a. The base is also formed with a second set of integral fingers 6 bent to extend inwardly at an angle to the axis of the holder and formed with outwardly bent free ends 6a. As more particularly shown in FIGURE 2, each 3,378,809 Patented Apr. 16, 1968 set includes four fingers equi-spaced circum-ferentially of the ring, the fingers 6 being positioned intermediate the adjacent fingers 5. Both sets of fingers extend integrally from the inner periphery of the annular base 4.

The fingers 6 are adapted to resiliently engage the glass envelope of a lamp bulb when the latter is inserted into the holder and preferably to engage in a groove or recess in a lamp bulb such as described in United States application Ser. No. 603,888, filed Dec. 22, 1966.

The fingers 5 are adapted to snap into an aperture in a support to enable the holder to be detachably secured thereto.

In the assembly of the metal member with the holder, the base 4 is positioned on the fiat face of the flange 3 and heat is then applied to the flange to soften the plastics material and the softened material is deformed to extend inwardly so as to overlap the outer face of the base as indicated by the flange portion 3a.

While the invention has been particularly described with reference to lampholders for wedge base lamps, it will be understood that it is not limited to any particular type of lamp or electronic valve.

I claim:

1. A lampholder comp-rising a body of insulating material, a cavity in said body for receiving the base of the lamp, a separately formed metal member attached to the holder at the lamp receiving end of the cavity, said member including a first set of resilient fingers extending outwardly of said end of the holder for snapping into an aperture in a support with which the holder is adapted to be assembled and a second set of resilient fingers also extending outwardly of said end of the holder, said second set of fingers having inwardly inclined portions shaped to engage and retain the envelope of a lamp when inserted into the holder.

2. A lam-pholder as claimed in claim 1, wherein said metal member comprises an annular shaped base secured to the body of the holder, the sets of fingers extending integrally from the inner peripheral edge of the annular base.

3. A lampholder as claimed in claim, 2, wherein the body is formed with a radial flange at its lamp receiving end, the base of the metal member being secured to the flange by subjecting the latter to heat and pressure and deforming it to extend inwardly over the outer face of the base.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,113,328 4/1938 Makenny 33991 X 2,125,843 8/1938 Hall 339-128 2,140,442 12/ 1938 Clark.

2,712,120 6/1955 Cochran 339-128 2,749,432 6/1956 Dorsey 240--l0 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,007,429 5/ 1957 Germany.

986,417 3/ 1965 Great Britain.

RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner. 

